Recipe courtesy of Mary Sue Milliken
and
Susan Feniger
Country Pate
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 1 loaf or 18 appetizers
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 16 servings
- Calories
- 341
- Total Fat
- 26
- Saturated Fat
- 9
- Carbohydrates
- 2
- Dietary Fiber
- 0
- Sugar
- 0
- Protein
- 17
- Cholesterol
- 116
- Sodium
- 279
- Total: 1 day 2 hr 30 min
- Prep: 1 day
- Cook: 2 hr 30 min
Ingredients
1 pound plus 1-ounce lean veal or chicken
8 ounces lean pork
14 ounces fatback
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup applejack, calvados, or brandy
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 ounces chicken livers, trimmed
1 tablespoon pureed garlic
1/4 cup brandy
2 1/2 bay leaves
1 slice day-old white bread, crusts removed
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 small eggs
1/2 pound bacon, sliced
1/4 pound baked ham
1/4 pound pickled tongue
4 bay leaves for garnish
5 garlic cloves, peeled
Directions
- Trim veal or chicken and pork of excess fat and tendons. Skin fatback. Cut into 1 inch cubes and pass through largest hole of a meat grinder. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in salt, pepper, and applejack. Cover with plastic wrap touching the mixture and refrigerate at least 1 day or as long as 3.
- After marinating, heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Saute livers until well browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Add garlic and cook about 1/2 minute, being careful not to let it color. Reserve garlic with liver.
- Add brandy and bay leaves to same skillet. Scrape bottom of pan to loosen brown bits and cook over low heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool and remove and discard bay leaves.
- Dip white bread in warm water to soften. Squeeze out excess moisture. Add to the liver and garlic along with 2 cups marinated ground meat, allspice, nutmeg, and brandy. Stir to combine.
- Transfer to a food processor, add eggs, and puree until a smooth paste is formed. This paste will bind the pate. Place puree in a large bowl, add remaining ground meat, and combine well. (We recommend using your hands, not a spoon, to combine this dense mixture.)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Line a 9 by 5 by 3 inch glass or ceramic loaf pan with bacon slices so they overhang lengthwise, about 3 inches on each end. Slice ham and tongue into 4 by 1/2 by 1/2 inch julienne strips.
- Spread about a cup of pate evenly over the bacon to cover the bottom. Arrange alternating strips of ham and tongue lengthwise, over the pate. Repeat this procedure, alternating pate with strips
- of ham and tongue, until pan is filled and top layer is pate. (When the loaf is sliced you will see a regular pattern of solids and pate.) Fold overhanging bacon over the top. (The pate may rise slightly over the top of the pan. That's OK.)
- Tap pan against a counter to firmly pack. Garnish top with bay leaves and garlic cloves. Cover with 2 layers aluminum foil, tucking edges under to completely seal. Place inside a larger pan and pour in boiling water until it rises halfway up the sides of the pate. Bake 2 hours 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Place cooled pate on a baking sheet and cover with another baking sheet. Top with some 3 pounds of weights (canned goods or milk cartons are good) and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2 weeks. This compacts the pate and makes it easier to slice.
- To serve, remove and discard the bay leaf and garlic garnish. To loosen, dip pan's bottom in warm water and run a knife along inside edges. Invert onto a serving platter. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and serve on lettuce leaves.